Two figures crouched behind a ridge of broken obsidian, rifles held steady, armor glinting in the red light of Basalt-9's setting suns.
"Contact. Northwest quadrant. Large Class-IV alien beast… and wait… someone's fighting it?"
The taller of the two patrolmen adjusted the scope on his helmet visor. "That's not one of ours. No ID ping, no distress beacon—"
"He crash-landed ten minutes ago," the other said, voice low. "Came out of the wreck walking like nothing happened. Then the beast found him."
The taller one whistled softly. "That's a spinecrasher. Most squads need a plasma rifle to bring those down."
"Let's move in."
"No," the tall one held out an arm. "Wait. Watch him."
Below, amid drifting ash and red-gold dust, the lone figure moved with unnatural poise. Black hair tousled by the wind wearing a black hoodie. His eyes a strange glowing blue.
Then he moved. The spinecrasher lunged. The boy met it.
The watching patrolman's jaw slackened. "Did you see that?"
The taller one narrowed his eyes. "He took the full charge. Didn't even flinch."
"H-how did he do that?" The shorter one said, in shock.
The tall one leaned forward, eyes wide. "That's… Renshin."
"Renshin?" The shorter one looked over, confused.
"In the entire universe," the taller one said, "some people are born with supernatural abilities. We call those abilities Ingenium. Fire, gravity, soul-manipulation, all Ingenium are unique and different from one another."
He paused, watching the fight unfold. Kaito ducked under a claw swipe, spun, and cracked the Spinecrasher's side with a glowing elbow. The sound was like splitting stone.
"But Renshin? That's different. It's earned. Through training. Through surviving. By the looks of it he's at the first stage Gōtai. Hardened Body. It channels energy inside your body making your physical abilities stronger and tougher. Some experts who mastered this stage can even breathe in a vacuum."
"First stage?" The shorter patrolman asked, his voice tinged with disbelief.
The tall one nodded slowly, voiced low with something like awe. "There are three known stages of Renshin."
"Stage one: Gōtai — Hardened Body. The one he's using now. You fortify yourself from the inside out. Strenght, resillience, stamina. Your flesh turns like alloy. Bones like carbon-steel. You can take a hit that'd kill most creatures… and keep walking."
Kaito slid beneath a sweeping claw, then rose with a sharp twist and drove a blinding kick into the spinecrasher's midsection. The beast stumbled, wheezing, its armored plating cracked and hissing.
"Stage two is Kakushiki- Awakened Mind. Heightened awareness. Reaction time boosted beyond what the eye can follow. You start thinking faster than most can move. It makes illusions useless. Helps fight those with mental-type Ingenium."
The shorter one blinked. "So it's like… battle intuition?"
"More like battlefield precognition," the tall one muttered. "You don't guess the next move. You know it."
Kaito pivoted but his foot caught a jagged stone. He stumbled for half a second, barely regaining balance before the spinecrasher's tail whipped by, narrowly missing his face.
The shorter patrolman flinched. "But… that trip…"
The tall one narrowed his gaze. "Yeah. He hasn't unlocked kakushiki. Not yet."
"Stage three," he added quietly, "is called Reikon - Soul Presence."
"Sounds… intense."
"It is. Few reach it. Reikon makes you feel things most can't even sense. Auras. Intentions. You walk into a room and know who's dying first. It's like your spirit stretches beyond your body."
Below, Kaito exhaled slowly. He set his stance, one hand behind him as a faint blue glow pulsed beneath his skin.
The spinecrasher roared and charged again.
Kaito moved.
He spun under the strike, rose like a bolt of lightning and drove his glowing fist straight into the beast's exposed core.
KRACKKKK
The spinecrasher lifted off the ground from the force of the blow and crashed into the dirt, unmoving.
Silence.
Ash drifted like snow.
"…He did it," the shorter one whispered.
"Yeah," the tall one said. "With just Gōtai."
Kaito flexed his shoulder and turned toward the ridge. "Hey. I know you're watching."
Both patrolmen froze.
"I'm not your enemy," Kaito called out, voice calm, but firm. "Unless you want to be."
After a beat, the taller patrolman rose slowly. "Ashen Gate patrol. You're not registered. State your name?"
"Kaito," he said, brushing dirt from his sleeve. "Kaito Hoshizora. And my ship's fried. So unless this planet has space-taxi, I could use a lift."
The patrolmen exchanged glances.
"…Alright," the tall one said. "Come with us. But the city's gonna have a lot of questions."
Kaito gave a wry grin. "Yeah, well… me too."
They started walking toward the shadow of the citadel beyond the volcanic ridges, where towers pierced the dying sky like obsidian knives.
And far ahead, in the blood-lit depths of the arena…
A lone guy stood motionless as the final echoes of battle faded.
The floor beneath him was cracked and scorched. Around him, broken weapons and fallen combatants littered the ground like offerings to a god of war. His blade dripped molten blood, the air around him distorted by heat and pressure. Even the cheering crowd had fallen to a hush.
He stood tall, silent, grey hair matted with sweat, a deep black mark curling faintly along one shoulder, alive with a subtle, shifting glow. The light above caught his eyes: cold and unblinking, like polished obsidian.
Then—
A thundering voice from the balcony above:
"Incredible! He's done it again!"
The crowd erupted.
Cheers roared through the arena.
But the guy didn't even flinch.
He simply turned, sheathed his daggers with a quiet shhk, and walked off vanishing into shadow.